Psst.org
We help people who see something at work that doesn't seem right. Help us to help more concerned people hold power to account.
The Psst... mission is to make it much easier and safer to hold power to account from within by pairing mechanisms for safe reporting with the power and safety of the collective.
The concept of whistleblowing is sacrosanct in democratic societies. But today the act of whistleblowing is both less effective as a means of checking power and more precarious for the individual who comes forward. We as a society must re-think and re-engineer whistleblowing to keep up with a world where society's power brokers in Silicon Valley and Washington, DC face little to no oversight and wield dangerous weapons against individual whistleblowers and journalists.
Psst… addresses the threat to whistleblowing by shifting it from an individual pursuit to collective action. Collective action diffuses the risks associated with whistleblowing while also increasing the impact of disclosures.
The mechanism for doing so is the Psst Safe, a secure repository where insiders can record their concerns, whether big or small, in a repository while protecting their identities. Individual deposits in the repository are vetted for authenticity and analyzed to uncover patterns among deposits. Patterns are used to create complete stories and/or legal cases; depositors are given the option to be part of the collective, always with legal and safety measures in place.
The Psst Safe is backed up by Psst Legal and Psst Story, which are run by veterans in storytelling and legal rights of whistleblowers.
Fundraisers
Official fundraiser
Keep John safe while he exposes America's far-right militia
He risked everything to inform us about the growth and resilience of America's shadow militia. He has more to share - help him keep warning us of developments in the American militia. John Williams is a wilderness survival instructor who, when contacted by militia leaders for training advice, recognized the threat they pose to individuals and society as a whole. An expert in espionage, John became a trusted member of two major militia groups after January 6, 2021. In the span of more than two years, he shared his harrowing story about the groups and their leaders with Josh Kaplan of Pro Publica whose story, The Militia and the Mole (January 4, 2025), has received high praise and millions of reads. TL;DR: initially thwarted after Jan 6, the groups have grown significantly in subsequent years and are readying for a renaissance under the next US administration. We need John's eyes and ears to continue to warn us of developments in the world of militia. Psst... provides pro bono legal, security and psychosocial support to John, but he needs additional financial help to stay safe, including funds to move safe houses and to change his identity. Anything you can provide will help.
- Raised
- $0
- Goal
- $10,000
Donors
Lauren Rauk Stephen Huyton